


Vengeful Cat of the Night

by OminousPredictions



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angry Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Angst, F/M, Hurt, Hurt Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Identity Reveal, Lila Rossi Bashing, M/M, Revenge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:15:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24595882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OminousPredictions/pseuds/OminousPredictions
Summary: Ladybug investigates a possible lead on Hawk Moth’s location, only to be ambushed and almost killed by thugs. Cat Noir rescues her in the nick of time, but she is left out of commission for some time. This leaves her partner alone with his lady injured. But what many do not realise is that whilst Cat Noir seems far too laid-back and cavalier to be taken seriously as a hero, appearances can be deceiving. The Black Cat is the partner and protector of the Ladybug, but when that fails……………. it becomes the avenger.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Ivan Bruel/Mylène Haprèle, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Max Kanté/Lê Chiến Kim
Comments: 54
Kudos: 274





	1. Chapter I

**Author's Note:**

> Another one of my Miraculous Ladybug fics. People can probably guess where I'm going with this.

Ladybug crouched in the shadows of the office building’s roof, looking down at the warehouse beneath her. Innocuous and indistinguishable from it’s fellows, an anonymous source had mentioned suspicious activity around it for the last few nights and it seemed a good candidate for Hawk Moth’s lair. It sat in a largely disused area of industrial space and was far from any residential areas. Not very glamorous, but then that was the whole point of a supervillain lair if the villain wanted to remain hidden and inconspicuous. In any case, it might be underground and the warehouse was an entrance, or it was used to breed the butterflies he used to create his akumas or even as an emergency hide-out. She had been watching for a while, using her yo-yo’s night-vision scope feature as the night crept in. Cat Noir’s inherent night-vision would have come in even more handy, but the source had recommended she go alone so as to be less likely to be seen. She had seen the sense in it, but a small nagging voice in the back of her head was telling her something was wrong. Her “Ladybug sense”, as Cat Noir jokingly put it, was tingling, but what was it tingling for?

She stiffened as she heard the sound of a car arriving, pulling up outside the warehouse. She increased the zoom as the back door opened and a shadowy figure stepped out. She gasped as she saw a silver mask, a dark suit and a cane. Hawk Moth! It was him! With trembling fingers, she switched her yo-yo to the communicator function and called Cat Noir.

“Has the Cat got your tongue? Leave a message.”, his answering machine said.

She rolled her eyes; her partner’s humour wasn’t terrible, but he tended to lay it on pretty thickly and his constant flirting was more of a detriment. But that wasn’t important right now.

“Cat Noir, I think I’ve found Hawk Moth’s lair! And I think he’s just arrived! Get your butt over to these coordinates I’m sending you. Now!”, she said.

And she shut it off and got up. She really ought to wait for Cat Noir, but she had faith he would arrive quickly and she couldn’t afford to let Hawk Moth get away. Her “Ladybug sense” seemed to increase in intensity, warning her that this was a bad idea, but she decided she couldn’t risk the villain escaping.

“I’m going in.”, she whispered.

Lowering herself to the ground, she stole quietly across the street towards the parked car. Examining it, she saw it was a black-painted Mercedes sedan, large but somewhat secondhand. She snapped a few pictures of it, particularly the number plate, before continuing on. She snuck round the corners, watching for any potential ambushes or traps, and saw only one unlocked door. Too easy; could be a trap. She ascended to the roof and found an open skylight, which was again too easy. Proceeding along to the next one, which was locked, she opened her yo-yo and took out a hairpin, which she inserted into the lock and began to pick it; she could have used it on the doors, but she felt that having the high ground would be best. After a few moments, the lock clicked and fell open. Easing the skylight open, she stealthily lowered herself down into a small, dark room that looked like it was used as a reception. A desk, some chairs and three vending machines, empty and broken and all covered in a fine layer of dust; nobody had been in here for quite some time. 

Another locked door yielded in moments and she entered a large, wide-open space crammed with boxes. Peering inside one, she found it was loaded with paper and office supplies. Strange, but a possible cover. She crept along through the stacks of boxes, heading for a bright light that was visible through them. Stepping out, she found herself in a cleared spot in the middle of the crates, a pool of light in the middle of it all. In this pool of light, his back to her, was Hawk Moth. He seemed unaware of her presence, just standing here with his cane. Ladybug readied her yo-yo, even as her “Ladybug sense” began practically screaming at her. Danger, danger!

“It’s over, Hawk Moth! Surrender and come quietly!”, she called out confidently.

Her voice echoed in the silent room, echoing off the walls and tall ceiling. Hawk Moth did not turn around, however. His shoulders shook with laughter.

“Something funny?”, Ladybug asked.

“Yes, actually. But I don’t think you’ll be seeing the funny side.”, Hawk Moth said.

Ladybug stiffened; his voice was different. He turned around to face her, pulling off his mask and cloak. Beneath the mask was a youthful but scarred face, knife scars by the look of them, and a close-shaved head of blond hair. He wore black leather, trousers and a trenchcoat over a low-collared vest. Tattooed across his chest, however, was what really made her angry; a swastika, black ink stark against his skin. He also wore a pair of rings with the same symbol on them, a red armband and his belt buckle was a swastika as well. Neo-Nazis. Just great. 

“And here I thought Hawk Moth couldn’t be anymore evil.”, she said.

“Oh, please, girl! I’m not Hawk Moth, but I do agree with him on one point. You have to go.”, the man retorted.

Ladybug sensed movement from around her and, sure enough, more thugs began to emerge from the shadows. Like their leader, they too were decked out in black leather and swastikas, and also toting bats, tyre irons, chains and lengths of pipe. Ladybug was now pretty sure that anonymous source had needed more following up on, and if she managed to get out of this one, she would certainly make sure to do so. After all the advice she gave Alya on checking her sources, she hadn’t done the same because she was so eager to swoop in and get her own scoop! What an idiot!

“So, I’m guessing you guys didn’t lure me here to present me with a cheque?”, she remarked, trying to remain calm.

“No. We think you need to be taught a lesson.”, the leader said.

Ladybug glanced around, taking in the opposition, possible exit points and things she could use. She’d been outnumbered before and come out on top, but that was against akumas with Cat Noir backing her up. She was fairly sure she could take and defeat these bozos, but the risk was that they were ordinary humans and she could seriously injure them. Whilst she wasn’t entirely sad about that idea, as her parents’ bakery had been harassed on more than one occasion by these lowlives who disliked a mixed-race family being so popular in Paris, she was a hero and heroes did not maim or kill.

“Last I checked, Nazis don’t read. What lesson could you possibly teach me?”, she asked.

She was stalling for time for Cat Noir to get here, but she was also curious and wanted answers. Were these punks allies of Hawk Moth and knew where he really was?

“You need taking down a peg, Ladybug. You haven’t done anything about all the immigrants, Jews and other scum that are invading Paris, taking jobs away from upstanding citizens.”, one of them snarled.

“And you lot are supposed to be the upstanding citizens?”, Ladybug snorted. “Don’t make me laugh!”

“When we’re done with you, you won’t have enough teeth to laugh.”, the leader said. “Get her, lads!”

Laughing menacingly and wielding their weapons, they closed in on her. She began to feel slightly nervous as she switched her yo-yo to a surreptitious recording function.

“Listen, you guys. I am capable of seriously hurting you and I’d really rather not, so I’ll give you one chance to just turn around and leave with no hard feelings.”, she said.

“Hah! Nice try, bug, but you’re a hero. You won’t kill us!”, sneered a big one.

“No…………….”, Ladybug began.

Her yo-yo swung out, snatching the crowbar from the big brute’s hand and swinging it into the face of another, shattering his nose and making him drop his length of pipe with a howl of agony. The rest of them halted, earlier confidence vanishing.

“.................... but I will hurt you, if necessary.”, Ladybug finished.

Their earlier bravado had vanished; like most petty thugs and bullies, they were complete and utter cowards more comfortable with attacking those who couldn’t fight back. Faced by someone ready, willing and able to hurt them gave them pause, but not for long.

“She can’t take all of us!”, one said.

And they charged as one. Ladybug was able to use her agility, size and skills to her advantage, weaving and ducking around the big apes trying to clobber her to death, trying not to hurt them too badly with her enhanced strength. More fell back, clutching injured wrists, noses and ankles, but then one got lucky. He threw his length of pipe at her and she did not dodge in time; the pipe smacked her in the stomach, knocking her off balance. Another one tripped her with a chain and she fell heavily to the ground.

“Get her!”, the leader said.

Ladybug found herself swarmed, blows being rained down on her with weapons, fists and steel-toed boots, too many to ward off. The magic of her suit protected her from serious injury, but there was only so much it could do. She lashed out, knocking some of them back, but the leader swung his bat and struck her around the head, knocking her out. His lieutenant, whose nose she’d broken, picked up a sledgehammer and hefted it over her unconscious form.

“Time to squash that dratted bug!”, he snarled.

But the leader stopped him, though not out of any humanitarian concern.

“Hold on, hold on. I have a better idea.”, he said. “Get the kerosene.”

A truly evil grin spread across the face of the lieutenant as he saw where his boss was going with this.

“With pleasure.”, he said.

They doused the place with the flammable liquid, paying close attention to the stacked boxes of paper which would be good kindling, before beating a retreat. The leader hesitated on the threshold, looking at Ladybug’s prone form on the floor as he held up a match.

“Au revoir, Ladybug.”, he said.

And he dropped the match onto the trail of kerosene, which ignited at once. The flames travelled along it towards the pools of kerosene and piles of soaked paper and cardboard, going up in a massive whumpf. Within moments, the entire space was ablaze and the flames were licking up the support pillars and the walls, consuming the boxes and crates. It wouldn’t be long before the whole place was a smouldering ruin. The Neo-Nazis piled into their vehicles and sped away, their cruel work done.

*

Cat Noir was speeding over the rooftops, cursing his late-running photo shoot. Lila was an increasingly frustrating presence, ever since he made that deal with her to leave Marinette alone. Photo shoots now took twice as long as usual because she spent half the time arguing with Vincent and the other staff about how best she looked, most of which involved her draping herself over him like a velvet throw over a chair. It was taking every single ounce of his patience to get through them and he felt horribly guilty for inflicting Lila onto the modelling staff because she was such a nightmare. She was demanding, she was belittling, she was always telling them how to do their jobs despite them being the best in the business ( of course they were, they worked for Gabriel) and she was forever bullying or intimidating the other models and the interns. It was only the thought of Marinette being back in school and safe from the girl’s lying manipulations that kept him from throwing in the towel. When he got home, he announced that he was tired and headed straight to bed even though it meant skipping dinner and he was starving, but the messages from Ladybug had taken priority. He was now running and jumping flatout to make good time, but as he swooped up onto a tall building he saw a column of smoke rising into the air and heard the sound of fire sirens. Should he swoop in to help, or did Hawk Moth take priority? Then he double-checked the coordinates Ladybug sent him and his heart failed.

“NO!”, he cried in anguish.

He may have set a new world record for pole vaulting as he used his staff to propel himself over an entire street to land with a knee-shaking impact in front of the blazing warehouse, cracking the concrete as he tried to call Ladybug.

“Please tell me you got out, milady.”, he said. “Please, please, please.”

No response, so he tried again. And this time, over the crackling of the flames, he thought he heard something else, a familiar ringing coming from inside the blazing warehouse. 

“Oh no. NO!”, he bellowed.

And he charged straight at the burning building, heedless of the heat that washed over him and the sparks flying in the air. A door became visible and he vaulted at it with his staff, kicking it inwards with a crash. He found himself in an inferno, the flames consuming everything around him. 

“LADYBUG!”, he called out over the roar of the flames. “LADYBUG, WHERE ARE YOU?!”

Another door was in his way, but one quick Cataclysm and it dropped to the floor in rusted, broken pieces and he found himself in a big room, fire licking up to the ceiling as it devoured stacks of boxes and crates. Black smoke hung in the air like a cloud and the heat was unbelievable. His suit would protect him from it for a little while, but not forever. And if Ladybug was somehow caught in the middle of this hellfire inferno, he had to hurry before it roasted him. Keeping low and using his staff as a breathing utensil, he proceeded further into the room, calling out.

“LADYBUG! LADYBUG, ANSWER ME! ARE YOU IN HERE?”, he called.

No reply, but then his foot connected with something and he fell over. Looking to see what he had tripped over, his heart leapt when he saw that it was Ladybug. She was curled up on the floor, unconscious, with a nasty bruise on her face and her suit smouldering as he watched. Scrambling to his feet, he picked her up and cradled her in his arms.

“Milady?”, he said. “Milady, please, wake up. Wake up.”

Her eyes fluttered open.

“C-Cat Noir?”, she managed to say.

“It’s me. It’s me, milady.”, he replied. “What happened? Was it Hawk Moth?”

But there was a huge crash as a ceiling beam gave way, blocking the way out.

“Oh no.”, Cat Noir said. “Now what? I don’t want us to burn together.”

Ladybug tried to say something else, but the effort was too much and she slumped in his arms. He personally could not see any way out of this and curled himself protectively over her; perhaps he could spare her the flames long enough for rescue. In the grand scheme of things, she mattered more than he did. And it wasn’t like there were many who would miss him, Adrien, for who he was. Nino would miss him, certainly, and Marinette and maybe a few others in the class, but everyone else would only mourn what he was; Adrien Agreste, the handsome, charming, quiet, rich and model son of a fashion designer. The thought made him feel like crying, though his eyes were already stinging and watering from the smoke so it made little difference.

“Sorry, milady.”, he whispered as he clutched her to him. “I failed.”

And they might well have died there, in the flames, but Fate had different ideas. Above them the skylight shattered from the heat, sending shards of glass falling in a circle around them. Cat Noir looked up and saw the skylight crumple, leaving a gaping hole large enough to escape through, and suddenly recalled the time Marinette helped him to save them both from the sinking boat the Evillustrator had trapped them on. Gripping Ladybug hard with one arm, he held out his staff with the other and extended it so they rose up. The frame of the skylight sagged and he braced himself, grunting as his back took the full force of crashing through it, and then they were outside, in the cool night air. Flames had broken through the roof and smoke was climbing high into the air, and emergency sirens indicated the fire service weren’t far away. Cat Noir sank down, cradling Ladybug and wondering what to do.

“I can’t take her to hospital, they’ll figure out her identity.”, he said. “But she’s hurt. What do I do?”

And then it struck him: Master Fu! He would know what to do. Trying not to jar Ladybug too much, he vaulted into the next street and began to make his way to the massage parlour where the last remaining and mysterious dispenser of the Miraculous resided.

*

By keeping to the shadows and back alleys, Cat Noir made it there without anyone seeing him, which he was very grateful for. Ladybug’s luck must be wearing off on him. He managed to stagger into the anteroom and set Ladybug down on a sofa before collapsing next to her with a loud thud. The noise must have been heard because Master Fu opened the door to his massage room and stepped out, looking cross.

“I’m so sorry, we’re close- Cat Noir?!”, he said, breaking off.

“Master. Thank the Miraculous!”, Cat Noir said, panting for breath. “Ladybug…….. hurt……. need help.”

Master Fu caught sight of Ladybug and his face went white.

“Oh, by all the saints! What on earth happened?”, he asked, examining her frantically.

“Don’t know.”, Cat Noir gasped. “She said she had a lead on Hawk Moth, but I was……… delayed. I found her beaten unconscious in a warehouse that was on fire. I barely got her out of there……”

“Hawk Moth?”, Master Fu said. “But this does not make sense. Was there any evidence left behind?”

“If there was, Master, it was burnt to ashes by the time I got there.”, Cat Noir replied.

Master Fu ran his hands over Ladybug, not touching her but seemingly reading her vital signs. Cat Noir assumed it was related to his Miraculous, as was the little green kwami fluttering around him that he recognised as Nino’s, but those questions could wait. 

“Is she……….. is she going to be all right?”, he asked.

“I cannot be sure at this stage. She must remain with me for proper healing.”, Master Fu replied.

“How long will that be?”, Cat Noir asked.

“I cannot say. Which is why the situation must change.”, Master Fu said.

Cat Noir was confused; what situation?

“I had hoped it would not come to this, but desperate times call for desperate measures.”, Master Fu continued. 

He turned to him.

“Help me bring her into the main room, then we shall talk.”, he said.

Cat Noir picked up Ladybug, tenderly and gently as he could, then carried her into the massage room and laid her down on the mattress. Master Fu took out a tablet and thumbed through it.

“Among other things, I was privileged to find a spell for healing injured Miraculous users.”, he said. “It should work, but it will take a while.”

“And what should I do, Master?”, Cat Noir asked.

“First, the new development.”, Master Fu replied. “The time has come for you to know each other’s identities.”

Cat Noir felt his jaw drop, actually causing a loud cracking noise. 

“You’re serious?”, he asked.

“Do I look like I’m in a joking mood?”, Master Fu snapped.

“No, Master. Sorry, this is a lot to take in all at once.”, Cat Noir replied.

“Understandable. But I am being deadly serious.”, Master Fu said. “Ladybug will be out of commission for some time, and her family need to know. Which means you need to know as well.”

Cat Noir nodded.

“You can count on me, Master. But…………. who is she? Do I know her?”, he asked.

“Indeed. And I’m sure that at some point in the future, it will be the subject of many humourously natured conversations.”, Master Fu replied, smiling for the first time.

“Right now, laughter is far from my mind.”, Cat Noir said. “What do you need me to do?”

“Fetch her parents and bring them here. Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng, of the famous bakery.”, Master Fu replied.

Cat Noir went rigid; the Dupain-Chengs? But then, that meant Ladybug was………… Marinette? He looked at her closely and now that he was, he saw it. The same build, the same face, the same hairstyle (how in all the saints did he miss that?!), the same everything! And as he put the pieces together in his head, suddenly it all made sense; Marinette’s chronic lateness, conspicuous absences, convoluted excuses and disappearances during akuma attacks………….. their everyday Ladybug was, in fact, the real Ladybug! He was so caught up in this realisation that he missed his Miraculous beeping in alarm, about to transform him back, until Master Fu snapped his fingers in front of his face.

“You can come to terms with this on your own time, Cat Noir!”, he said scoldingly. “Recharge your kwami and then go and get the Dupain-Chengs.”

“Hm? Oh! Of course, of course!”, Cat Noir said, coming back to earth.

His transformation timed out and, in a crackle of greenish energy, he was Adrien Agreste once again. Plagg dropped into his hand as he used the other to bring out a piece of Camembert; the pungent cheese was far from his favourite thing to carry around, but it was Plagg’s and the kwami was very irritable without it.

“Here. Now eat up and be…………..”, he began.

Plagg darted up and ate it in one bite, not even bothering to savour or even taste it.

“.............. quick about it.”, Adrien finished, dumbfounded. Plagg usually was very lazy and ate his cheese slowly.

“OK, OK, I’m done! Now let’s get going! Come on, come on, come on!”, Plagg said.

“This isn’t your typical behaviour, Plagg. What’s wrong?”, Adrien asked.

“Later! Now transform!”, Plagg told him.

“Fine. Plagg, Claws Out!”, Adrien said.

In a flash, he was Cat Noir once more. Hesitating only to look at Ladybug once more, he then dashed out of the shop and headed in the direction of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Despite the lateness of the hour, the lights were still on in the bakery section. Cat Noir landed elegantly and dashed towards the door……….. which was locked, leaving him rubbing his nose and swearing under his breath. The door opened to reveal a worried-looking Sabine Cheng, who relaxed when she saw who it was.

“Oh! Cat Noir. Is something wrong?”, she asked.

“Yes, I’m afraid so, Mrs. Cheng.”, Cat Noir replied. 

“Oh. Would you like to come inside?”, Sabine asked.

“Please. I think this would be best said inside.”, Cat Noir said.

She stepped aside to let him in. The place smelt of fresh bread and cakes, making his stomach rumble loudly. Mrs. Cheng heard and giggled.

“My, my! Don’t you heroes eat properly?”, she asked.

“It takes a lot to remain this trim, ma’am.”, he replied politely.

“Well, your stomach doesn’t seem to be thanking you.”, Sabine remarked.

She opened a box and took out some cookies.

“Here. I insist.”, she said.

There was no arguing, and they smelt delicious, so he took them. And indeed they were delicious. But there was no time to savour them. 

“Mrs. Cheng, I have some very bad news. About your daughter, Marinette.”, he said.

Her expression changed at once from polite welcoming host to worried mother in an instant.

“Marinette? But she’s upstairs in bed. She had a long day.”, she said.

“Mrs. Cheng, I’m afraid this is a different situation. It’s difficult to explain here, but if you’d just-”, Cat Noir began.

But Sabine had turned away from him, heading upstairs.

“Tom! Tom!”, she called.

Her husband was there in an instant, a great bear of a man whose kindly demeanour usually put people at ease with his huge size. The worry in his wife’s tone, however, brought him running.

“What is it, dear?”, he asked. 

“Cat Noir’s here. He says something’s happened with Marinette.”, Sabine said.

“Marinette? But she’s upstairs in her room, surely?”, Tom replied.

Both parents exchanged looks, then as one glanced up at the ceiling.

“Marinette? Marinette?”, they both called.

When there was no response, they dashed upwards, looking panicked. Cat Noir followed and caught up just as they pushed open the trapdoor into Marinette’s attic bedroom. It was very pink and girly, but not in a bad way, and very neat and tidy for such a clumsy girl. A sewing machine, mannequin and plethora of pins, sewing needles and threads and sketchbooks spoke of her crafting skills, and………….. he sputtered to a halt as he saw the plethora of posters of Adrien Agreste. Dozens of them, mostly of his modelling gigs, and many decorated with little hearts. Did that mean she………….? No, no, not the time. Both parents had found her bed, neatly made and empty, and were now frantic, turning on him.

“Where is she? What’s happened to our daughter?”, Tom demanded, towering over the hero.

The man’s cuddly teddy bear type had vanished, replaced by a worried and verging on angry father whose child was missing and possibly in danger. Cat Noir actually felt scared for a moment, but Sabine laid a calming hand on her husband’s arm, trying not to betray her own feelings.

“Tom, please, you’re scaring the poor lad.”, she said. “He said he knew where she was.”

“I do. She’s been hurt, but she’s safe. And she will be all right, but you need to come with me.”, Cat Noir said.

“Then lead on.”, Sabine said.

They paused only to lock up the bakery, then followed him to the massage parlour.

“Why is she here?”, Sabine asked. “If she’s hurt, shouldn’t she be at the hospital?”

“It’s something the hospital cannot handle.”, Cat Noir replied. “Before we go in, you need to promise not to overreact or think it’s a trick. Because it’s not a trick.”

Both parents looked very confused, but their concern for their daughter outweighed any other feelings and they nodded. Cat Noir knocked on the door.

“Master Fu?”, he said. “It’s me. I brought them, as requested.”

A hatch in the door opened and Master Fu’s eyes peeked out.

“Good, good. Come in, there is not a moment to waste!”, he said.

He opened the door and let them in, looking at the Dupain-Chengs with a mixture of welcome and sorrow.

“As Cat Noir has no doubt told you, your daughter has been injured and is here.”, he said.

“Yes. But what happened? Did you have anything to do with it?”, Tom demanded.

“No. But I will be the one to heal it. I only ask that you trust me.”, Master Fu replied.

“Very well. But where is our daughter?”, Sabine asked.

“She is through here. Be warned, though, you may not recognise her at first glance.”, Master Fu said.

Both looked panic-stricken and practically shouldered their way past Master Fu into the other room. There was a moment of silence, then Tom came back out, face black as thunder.

“Is this some kind of joke?!”, he demanded. “Why is Ladybug in there? Where is Marinette?!”

He seized both Master Fu and Cat Noir in each hand and hoisted them up, looking enraged, but then Sabine was there.

“Tom! Stop! Let them down!”, she cried.

“Not until they tell us where Marinette is!”, Tom replied.

“Tom! That is Marinette! Ladybug is our daughter!”, Sabine said.

A look of utter shock crossed Tom’s face and he let go of the two. Cat Noir hit the floor hard and Master Fu landed on him with a dull thud, causing the hero to groan in pain; his back still hurt from the warehouse escape.

“Sorry, Cat Noir.”, Master Fu said, holding out a hand.

“It’s OK, Master. I’m just glad you’ve been dieting.”, Cat Noir replied cheekily.

Tom stood there in shock, trying to come to terms with what he’d just heard.

“Sabine, are you sure?”, he asked.

“Yes. I don’t know why I didn’t realise it sooner.”, Sabine replied.

“You and me both.”, Cat Noir muttered.

“The Miraculous conjures up a glamour when the user is transformed.”, Master Fu explained. “It prevents a casual eye from discerning the true appearance of the person and connecting the dots. A useful ability that has helped preserve secret identities for centuries.”

“I see. But now there is another issue. Our daughter is Ladybug?!”, Tom said.

“Yes, Tom. But how did she get hurt?”, Sabine asked.

They turned to look at Cat Noir.

“She sent me a message telling me she had a lead on Hawk Moth. I was delayed so I wasn’t able to get there to help her. I found her badly beaten and unconscious in a burning warehouse.”, he said.

Sabine’s hands flew to her mouth and Tom wrapped his arms around her, visibly struggling with his own emotions. 

“Who did it?”, he asked, keeping his voice commendably level.

“I don’t know. I don’t think it was Hawk Moth, though.”, Cat Noir replied.

“Why?”, Tom asked.

“Because he would have taken her Miraculous and gloated about it to all of Paris. No, this is something else.”, Cat Noir said.

Sabine composed herself and they went into the main room. Ladybug was lying on the mattress, serene and peaceful despite the bruising on her face and the scorched parts of her suit. Sabine knelt down and kissed her forehead.

“My poor baby.”, she said. “My brave, amazing, superhero daughter.”

“Will she be all right?”, Tom asked.

“Yes.”, Master Fu replied. “I have a spell that will heal her fully, but it will take some time to complete. That is why I sent Cat Noir to get you.”

“Why?”, Sabine asked.

“She is your daughter. I could not keep her here for days without letting you know.”, Master Fu replied. “The healing spell works best in the presence of the person’s loved ones. If you could carry her home and put her in her bed, I will begin the spell.”

“Of course. Thank you.”, Sabine said.

And then she did something very surprising. She grabbed Cat Noir and pulled him into a hug. The black leather-clad hero froze, like he had no idea what to do or how to react; this was completely alien to him. 

“You saved her. Thank you. Thank you!”, she said, almost crying.

“Y-You’re welcome.”, he replied awkwardly.

Tom wanted to hug him as well, but decided not to as he risked outright crushing the lad and he seemed to have issues with personal contact, so he patted him on the back and thanked him profusely as well. Then, wrapping Ladybug up in his coat, he carried her back to the bakery and set her down on her chaise-longue, Master Fu in tow with all the things he needed for the spell.

“In her home environment, the healing energy will work at it’s best. She will make a full recovery.”, he said.

“How long will that take?”, Cat Noir asked.

“I would hazard a guess at three days.”, Master Fu replied.

“Three days?!” Cat Noir exclaimed.

“I know that sounds bad, and it is in many ways undesirable, but she is strong and you got to her just in time, otherwise she would not have made it.”, Master Fu.

Tom and Sabine gasped and Cat Noir felt his stomach twist; if he had been even a few minutes late, Ladybug (and Marinette) would have been gone. 

“Her injuries would have been even more extensive if not for the suit.”, Master Fu said. “She was beaten. Relentlessly and with much hatred. This was an act of supreme cruelty.”

Cat Noir’s fingers curled into fists that clenched so hard his leather gloves creaked in protest. Who dared to hurt his lady like that? Who dared to hurt Marinette like that? Tom and Sabine’s faces were a mixture of grief and cold fury.

“Just do what you can.”, Tom said. “Please.”

“I will. You have my word.”, Master Fu replied. “In the meantime, you must continue on as normal. Open your bakery as usual.”

“We will. It will help keep our minds busy, at least.”, Sabine remarked.

“And if any of Marinette’s friends ask about her, you must give them an excuse so they don’t get suspicious.”, Master Fu advised.

“We’ll say she got ill and we’ve sent her to stay with a relative outside Paris to recover.”, Tom replied.

Master Fu turned to Cat Noir.

“In the meantime, you must find who did this and bring them to justice. If they did this once, they will do it again.”, he said.

“I will, Master.”, Cat Noir replied. “Oh, I will.”

His entire frame trembled with rage and a low growl started in his throat. He turned to Tom and Sabine.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect her. But you have my assurances, I will find the people responsible.”, he said.

“We believe you, son.”, Tom said. “And we don’t blame you. You saved her; that’s the main thing.”

“Now go.”, Sabine told him. “Go and find those honourless bastards, wherever they cower.”

He nodded grimly and was gone in a flash.

=====================================================================================================

Nadja Chamack was just preparing for the ten o’clock news when the doors to the studio burst open and Cat Noir strode in. Excitement gave way to wariness and worry when they saw he was alone and very angry. He strolled right up to her, but Nadja Chamack was made of very tough stuff; she had to be in this business.

“Is something wrong, Cat Noir?”, she asked.

“Yes, Nadja. Something is very, very wrong.”, he replied. “I need to deliver a message, and I need you to help me.”

“Of course.”, Nadja replied, trying to keep her voice level and professional. “But, where is Ladybug?”

“She’s………… indisposed. Please, just let me speak.”, Cat Noir told her.

Nadja agreed, both out of curiosity and because this would guarantee massive viewership and ratings. Cat Noir sat down opposite her as the cameras rolled.

“Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news!”, Nadja said. “I’m Nadja Chamack, coming to you live with the news at ten! But first, I have Cat Noir here in the studio with a special message for the people of Paris. Over to you, Cat Noir.”

“Thanks, Nadja.”, Cat Noir replied.

He turned to look directly into the cameras.

“I am here to deliver a message. Tonight, Ladybug was ambushed and attacked by persons unknown and left to die in a burning warehouse.

Nadja went pale and her hands flew to her mouth in shock, an act mirrored by many in the studio and those watching the broadcast. Ladybug had been hurt?

“Fortunately, she is not dead. I rescued her, and she is recovering in a secure location far from Paris. Rest assured, she will be back in action before long, but there remains the matter of the cowardly scum who did this to her, who are more than likely watching this broadcast and whom I have a special message for.”, Cat Noir continued.

He stood up and walked right up to the cameras, glaring into them with a full fury gaze.

“I will give you one chance, just one, to come forward, turn yourselves in and answer for your crimes to the police force of this wonderful city. If you do not take this chance, then it will not be the police you will be dealing with, but me. I will come after you, I will track you down and I will find you. That is not a threat, that is a promise. And even if it takes me the rest of my life, if it’s the last thing I ever do, if I have to tear this city apart and put it back together brick by brick, I. Will. Find. You.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you all say to that?
> 
> For starters, I generally avoid politics in my stories. But Nazis, and I mean the goose-stepping, swastika-toting Nazis, are fair game for anyone. A rule is that something bad happens to them in any media they appear in, as in face-melting bad, and that will happen here. I recalled the episode where Master Fu flees from them in occupied Paris and decided I could roll with their modern counterparts. They dislike Ladybug because she is everything they are not and stands for everything they hate, so they would want rid of her. And they do get hurt here, with plenty more to come.
> 
> This will be heavy on Adrien, but in a good way. Loads of fics portray him as conceited and possessive of Ladybug and disrespectful of her boundaries. This will not be one of them. This might lead into romance, but will mainly delve into their relationship as partners and how they see each other.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien begins his hunt for the Nazis who hurt Ladybug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be more than a few references to action movies in this story. Adrien strikes me as the kind of person with a lot of time and a lot of movies and video games to pass the time. Some of it sunk in and he uses them in his hunt. He's a bit of a goofball and likes acting, so that comes out here.

After delivering his chilling threat, Cat Noir had bid a curt goodbye to a rather shaken Nadja and departed the TV station for home. When he touched down in his bedroom, he de-transformed and sat down on the bed, thinking hard. It had been a night of revelations all round; Ladybug was Marinette, Marinette was Ladybug. Now that he knew, so much in the past that he hadn’t understood made a lot of sense; Marinette always disappeared whenever there was an akuma, usually with an excuse so ridiculous that only the ones he came up with so he could slip off and transform could rival them. By all the gods he was an idiot! Then he remembered something else and turned to look at Plagg.

“OK, first you eat your cheese in one bite and urge me to transform and now you aren’t mocking me over my angst.”, he said. “Plagg, you’re starting to scare me.”

“Where Sugarcube is concerned, I don’t mess around.”, Plagg replied.

Adrien took a proper look at his kwami and saw that Plagg looked……….. agitated wasn’t really a strong enough word, but it worked.

“Sugarcube?”, he asked.

“Tikki. Ladybug’s kwami and my counterpart.”, Plagg replied. “She’s too sweet for her own good, but that just makes her even more wonderful.”

“You call her Sugarcube?”, Adrien snorted. “What does she call you, Stinky Sock?”

“Actually, yes, she does.”, Plagg replied without missing a beat.

Adrien was pretty sure Plagg had just admitted that without irony, which was in and of itself slightly scary. 

“I met Tikki briefly, when I was Mister Bug.”, he said. “She was very sweet, and very professional. I felt less like joking and more like getting on with the job at hand.”

“That’s her. She’s always so serious about these things! It’s difficult to get her to just cut loose and relax.”, Plagg said.

“She has to be, if her counterpart is a cheese-hogging lazybones like you!”, Adrien said, poking his kwami.

“Hey! For your information, I don’t have bones! So, myeh!”, Plagg retorted, sticking out his tongue.

Adrien laughed, humour distracting him for that brief second, then went back to his brooding, solemn look.

“That threat I made………….. it was scary.”, he said. “And yet, I don’t quite regret making it.”

“That’s because you don’t.”, Plagg explained. “The transformation brings some of my traits out through you, but that threat was all you.”

Adrien looked shocked; had he really been capable of all that? And what did that make him? Evil?

“No, it doesn’t make you evil.”, Plagg said after he mentioned this. “It makes you human, to feel this kind of response.”

“But you said many of your past wielders became evil. What if that happens to me?”, Adrien asked.

“It only happened to them because they didn’t have a Ladybug to balance them out or because my Miraculous was never meant to end up in their hands.”, Plagg said. “As for some of the others………… well, I’m presuming Sugarcube didn’t tell you about Joan of Arc?”

“No? Why?”, Adrien asked.

“Oh, boy. She’s going to thrash me for this…………”, Plagg muttered.

Adrien then listened open-mouthed in shock as Plagg explained how Joan of Arc had been a past Ladybug, with a lad from her village serving as her Cat Noir.

“He did love her romantically, but she didn’t reciprocate.”, Plagg said. “Nevertheless, he was devoted to her and served as her loyal protector.”

“And he wasn’t able to save her?”, Adrien asked.

“No.”, Plagg said with great bitterness. “A distraction, so he was lured away from her side so the English and their collaborators could capture her. They suspected she had the Miraculous, and they wanted the power. Others felt she was a pagan heretic or a witch.”

“But they didn’t get the Miraculous.”, Adrien said.

“No. Joan removed them and gave them to her Cat Noir, ordering him to take them far away so the English lords and clergy wouldn’t get them.”, Plagg replied.

Plagg shuddered.

“Tikki didn’t take it well. She blamed herself for centuries, being unable to save Joan. She gets very attached to her wielders and Joan was definitely one of the best. She tried to forcibly activate the Miraculous to protect her, something that carries great risk to the gems and the kwami, but Joan wouldn’t let her. She died a hero, as far as I’m concerned.”, he said.

“And……….. and her Cat Noir?”, Adrien asked, fearful of the answer.

“He went………… mad, I guess. His love for her combined with his Miraculous being out of balance was too much. He went on a rampage, hunting down those responsible and punishing them. They called him an avenging demon of the night, because he only operated at night and struck without mercy. But the grief, the anger, the revenge, it destroyed him. Only his Ladybug could reign him in, but she was gone.”, Plagg explained.

“My God.”, Adrien whispered. “Could that…………. could that happen with me?”

Plagg did not answer for some time, clearly mulling it over.

“I think you do have the potential for that, yes.”, he said finally. “For all your asinine flirting, you clearly do love Ladybug and it was hard for me to distinguish my rage from yours at what happened to her. But you’re also too sweet for your own good, and that can be a good thing here. It means you can act out of vengeance without going overboard and destroying yourself.”

“Like Anakin Skywalker but without turning into Darth Vader?”, Adrien asked.

“Not the sort of comparison I was going for, but yes.”, Plagg replied.

“I suppose I can work with that. But vengeance?”, Adrien said.

“Yes. One of the duties of the Black Cat is to be the guardian and protector of the Ladybug holder. But if that fails, they often become the avenger. Universal balance.”, Plagg explained.

Adrien mulled that over. All his life he’d been raised to disregard things like revenge as foolish and cruel, to take the high road and passively resist. But being Cat Noir was different; he protected people from evil, and what was more evil than Hawk Moth? Or the guys who did this?

“Is that why I feel compelled to take the bullet for Ladybug all the time?”, he asked.

Plagg shook his head.

“Actually, no. That’s all you. You throw yourself in the way of your own free will.”, he said.

Adrien thought that over. He was willing to do anything for Ladybug, this he knew, and that included avenging her. He knew that she wouldn’t approve of killing, and he understood that because taking another life was a line he was unwilling to cross unless absolutely necessary. But he’d be damned if he just stood by and let the thugs who hurt her get away with it. Unless he provided a very object lesson, they would probably try again with Ladybug and definitely continue hurting others. After thinking it over, he came to a decision.

“Well, one thing is true. I’m still going to to be Cat Noir.”, he said. “But by night, France is going to see a new vengeful cat of the night.”

Plagg chuckled.

“Oooh, I like the sound of that! The lowlives who hurt Sugarcube are going to be begging for mercy soon enough!”, he said.

Adrien glanced at the clock and saw it was almost three in the morning! He had been busy.

“Better get to bed. It’s a long day tomorrow.”, he said.

“Don’t forget Marinette won’t be there.”, Plagg warned him. “And you can’t know anything or it’ll seem suspicious.”

“Plagg!”, Adrien said, scandalised. “I find your lack of faith disturbing!”

“And stop with the Star Wars references!”, Plagg said.

“Oh, you love it! I’ve caught you watching it more than once!”, Adrien teased him.

Plagg grumbled for ten minutes before Adrien slapped a pillow over him. He got less sleep than he would have liked, but he was used to pulling long nights for homework as a result of long-running patrols. Nathalie woke him at 6:00 on the dot as per usual and he dove into the shower for a vain attempt at energy, followed by a near pint of coffee that worked a bit better. After eating his breakfast as fast as dignity would allow, he was ready to go. As the Gorilla drove him to school, he leaned into the front seat.

“I wanted to call by Marinette’s this morning. Would you mind stopping at the bakery first?”, he asked.

The hulking man gave him a suspicious glance in the mirror, but grunted affirmatively. Adrien knew the man was extremely partial to the bakery’s raspberry jam pastries, so convincing him was hardly a Herculean task. The car pulled up outside the bakery and both Adrien and the Gorilla stepped into a pleasantly warm shop, the scent of bread and sugar heavy in the air. Sabine was manning the register and serving a few customers, but beamed at the sight of him.

“Hello, Adrien. What would you like?”, she asked.

“I was actually hoping to see Marinette. I wanted to talk to her and thought I could walk her to school.”, Adrien replied with his most charming smile.

Sabine’s smile faded.

“Oh. I’m sorry, Adrien, but she’s not here.”, she said.

“Oh. Did something happen?”, Adrien asked.

Sabine’s eyes briefly shot upwards to the ceiling before she replied.

“She was a bit poorly, so we sent her away to recover with relatives. We thought some time away from the hustle and bustle of the big city would be more helpful.”, she said.

Adrien nodded in understanding, admiring this woman’s ability to convincingly sell a slightly unconvincing deception and understanding where Marinette got it from. 

“I see. Well, would you send her a message hoping she gets well soon? Oh, and could I get some of those raspberry jam things for my bodyguard. He won’t tell.”, he added.

“Of course, dear.”, Sabine smiled. “Hearing from you might well help her recover faster.”

“Will it?”, Adrien asked. “Why is that?”

“Oh, she adores you. She’s always talking about how sweet and kind and wonderful you are.”, Sabine replied.

Adrien felt himself flush; Marinette always talked about him at home? Did that mean she liked him or did she just see him as a really good friend? He paid for the pastries and thanked Sabine before leaving. The bodyguard patted him on the shoulder in thanks for the pastries. Adrien slipped a couple into a separate bag.

“You won’t tell, will you?”, he asked.

The big man placed a huge forefinger on his lips and grunted.

“Thanks, Gorilla.”, Adrien said.

The bodyguard rolled his eyes affectionately at the use of that nickname, then dropped him off in front of the school. Adrien munched on one of the pastries, struggling not to moan in delight at the amazing taste and consistency, as he climbed the stairs and entered Ms. Bustier’s classroom. His smile faded a bit as he heard Lila’s voice regaling everyone with false tales of her grandiose accomplishments and famous connections; he was starting to regret the high road advice he’d given Marinette, especially when he heard Lila promising to hook several of his classmates up with people she didn’t actually know. Up until now he had just brushed off lies and tabloids as being the same thing, but he was starting to realise that lies could actually be hurtful. He sat down next to Nino, who grinned broadly at him.

“Hey, bro! Ooooh, what’re you eating?”, he asked.

“Just some pastries from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. It’s like ambrosia!”, Adrien replied.

A shadow fell over the desk and a perfectly manicured hand picked up the bag. An expression of pure revulsion and disgust crossed Lila’s face, too quickly to be noticed unless you were looking closely, before she hitched it into a sickly smile.

“Oh, Adrien. Are you sure you should be eating those? They’re filled with so much junk and you need to watch your figure.”, she said.

Her concern for him sounded almost genuine, but he read the message buried within it; she hated that he was complimenting anything related to Marinette. He glared back at her, but was surprised at the response to her little speech.

“Hey! I’ll have you know Marinette’s parents make the absolute best pastries in Paris and they’re amazingly low-fat!”

Everyone stared in absolute disbelief at Nathaniel, who himself looked astonished at his own daring. He preferred to keep his head down and buried in his art, but one of his few berserk buttons was when his friends were insulted or threatened. Adrien remembered belatedly that Nathaniel had had a crush on Marinette a while ago, which had indirectly led to the creation of Evillustrator, easily one of the most versatile and dangerous akumas he’d ever faced and one which made him very wary of pissing off people who were artistically talented.

“Sorry!”, Nathaniel said. “It’s just I thought I should put that out there before there’s any misunderstandings.”

Adrien made a mental note to buy Nathaniel some really expensive art supplies to thank him.

“No worries, Nathaniel.”, he said, before turning to Lila. “Thanks for your concern, Lila, but I know better than to pig out.”

Lila recovered quickly.

“Oh, of course! I was just concerned because the modelling world can be so judgemental.”, she said with a falsely sweet laugh.

“Yes.”, Adrien replied. 

He then turned to Alya.

“I’ve got some bad news, by the way. Marinette isn’t coming in today.”, he said.

He didn’t miss the greedily triumphant flash in Lila’s cold eyes at that.

“What happened? Is she all right?”, Alya asked.

“Her mother said she’d fallen ill and they’d sent her to stay with some relatives in the country.”, Adrien replied. “I didn’t think it polite to pry any further.”

“Oh. That sucks.”, Alya said.

“We should get together and make something, get a gift for Marinette so she knows we were thinking of her!”, Rose piped up, ever the sweetheart.

Before anyone could reply, Lila interjected.

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll be back before long! And I’m sure she wouldn’t want us to waste our time getting a gift when she’s only been away for a few days!”, she suggested.

Adrien fought to keep his face composed and his voice level as he replied.

“Actually, I think it’s a great idea. I was only pulled out of school for one day when my father’s book went missing, but everyone practically threw me a party when I came back.”, he said.

“Yeah!”, Alya said. “Marinette’s always doing nice things for us. Only right that we return the favour every now and then.”

“I bet I can find the best gift to get her!”, Kim said.

“Kim, no. No more ridiculous bets!”, Max scolded. “You promised me.”

“But, Maaaaaax……………”, Kim pleaded, turning misty eyes on his boyfriend.

“No, Kim.”, Max told him firmly.

“I’ll take that bet.”, Alix said with a wicked grin.

“Alix!”, Max said, but the damage was done.

Adrien grinned as he watched his classmates squabble and chatter good-naturedly, though he did not miss the shadow of annoyance that crossed Lila’s face at being thwarted. Well, good. He was getting sick and tired of her and her petty, controlling and deceitful ways. Time she was taken down a peg. He noticed Alya, Alix and Nathaniel glancing suspiciously at Lila and wondered idly if they too had noticed something about her as well. She hadn’t exactly been subtle about her put-down of Marinette on this occasion.

“I’ve got an idea.”, he said. “Let’s all of us get her something nice, like fabric or a new sketchbook or something like that, and drop it off at the bakery. Her parents will give it to her when she gets back and she’ll know we were all asking about her.”

Lila opened her mouth to say something, but Alya beat her to the punch.

“I support Sunshine Boy’s position!”, she said. “Operation Marinette Appreciation is a go!”

You could have fried an egg on Lila’s face, Adrien thought happily as Ms. Bustier entered the class to begin the lesson. When she was told the reason for their excitement, she thought it was a great idea and perhaps something that could be made a general event to promote positive feelings and unity in the school, something to be done for friends who were ill. Adrien struggled not to break into his trademark Cheshire Cat Noir grin as he suggested calling it the Marinette Initiative, which was met with resounding applause (and made Lila look like she had lockjaw as she forced a smile). All in all, it was a good day, though he did not miss the main topic of conversation at lunch.

“Did you see the Cat Noir broadcast last night?”, Alya asked. “My blog’s been buzzing ever since!”

“Who didn’t?”, Nino replied. “Was seriously awesome!”

“And scary!”, Rose said. “Who would want to hurt Ladybug? And what if she never comes back? Who’ll protect us from Hawk Moth?”

“She will come back, Rose.”, Adrien said. “Be sure of it. And Juleka will protect you if it comes to it.”

Juleka’s face, what could be seen of it behind her long black hair, flushed red and she got a pleased little smile on her face when Rose hugged her. Adrien was a little ashamed to see how much fear his threat had caused in Paris, but most people supported him and actually approved; they wanted to see the cowardly scum punished as much as he did. Well, tonight would see a new cat on the prowl.

*

Adrien ate his dinner quickly that night and then retired to his room for the night, saying he would do his homework and then work on his Chinese until bed. On the way, he was diverted to his father’s office where he received a ten minute scolding for “scoffing illicit pastries in an undignified manner” and “threatening the delicate balance of his expert-approved diet”. He ascended the stairs, grumbling under his breath.

“Well, that’s one of my suspicions confirmed.”, he said bitterly. “Lila’s spying on me for my father.”

He’d had his suspicions from the start; his father never did anything without an agenda and Lila was no five-star model. This only confirmed it; the Gorilla had that look about him he always got when chastened and he trusted the big man to remain silent when he asked him to, so it wasn’t he who spilled the beans. Adrien guessed it was petty revenge for getting the class to do something nice for Marinette, even Lila unless she came up with another bullshit excuse as to why she didn’t get Marinette anything. He wasn’t angry, at least not by his standards, but he was cross. It meant the modicum of privacy school granted him was gone, and though he wasn’t secretive or rebellious (being Cat Noir didn’t count) he was still like any other teen in wanting privacy and independence. But he could deal with his own petty problems later; tonight, Vengeful Cat made his debut. Homework took him less than half an hour then, pausing only to set out some pre-prepared Chinese exercises, he woke up a dozing Plagg.

“Time to wake up.”, he said. “Come on, you stinky sock!”

“Hey! Only Tikki gets to call me that!”, Plagg protested.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”, Adrien noted. “Plagg, Claws Out!”

He transformed into Cat Noir and headed for the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Tom and Sabine had said they would leave the skylight unlocked so he could enter and leave discreetly, but to knock on it so he didn’t startle Master Fu. When he entered Marinette’s bedroom, he found Master Fu kneeling by Ladybug as she lay on the chaise-longue, murmuring under his breath. Glowing tendrils of energy, changing colour even as he watched, raced across her body, likely the effects of the healing spell at work. He barely turned around as Cat Noir approached.

“Evening, Cat Noir.”, he said.

“How is she?”, Cat Noir asked.

“The recovery process is slow, but steady. She is stable and on her way to a full recovery, but it will take some time.”, Master Fu replied.

“Good.”, Cat Noir said. “Oh, and I was wondering if you saw the news last night?”

Master Fu opened one eye to give him a sharp look.

“Yes.”, he said. “Your devotion and intensity was certainly………. stirring.”

“Yes, Master.”, Cat Noir replied. “Sorry, Master.”

“I would have kept it under wraps, personally, but Wayzz says that he has sensed the Butterfly Miraculous has gone into dormancy. Hawk Moth has shut down.”, Master Fu said.

“What?”, Cat Noir exclaimed. “But why? I did realise Hawk Moth might take advantage of Ladybug being out of action.”

“I cannot say.”, Master Fu replied. “Perhaps he wishes to keep a low profile now you are actively hunting him, or is waiting until Ladybug returns so as to steal both Miraculous. Nevertheless, be wary.”

“Yes, Master. But, aren’t you going to warn me against vengeance?”, Cat Noir asked.

“Under normal circumstances, yes. However, I assume Plagg has told you of the role of the Black Cat Miraculous.”, Master Fu said.

“Yes. He said I was to guard and protect Ladybug, and if that fails, avenge her.”, Cat Noir replied.

Master Fu nodded.

“Yes. Creation and Destruction are intimately linked.”, he said. “If Creation is harmed, Destruction ensues. Such is the way of the universe. I cannot stop you from doing this, I only implore you not to lose yourself within the process.”

“I won’t, Master. You can count on that.”, Cat Noir replied.

“Good. Now, take your staff and touch it to ladybug’s yo-yo. All the information it recorded about the fight will be transferred to your staff. Use it to track down the perpetrators.”, Master Fu said.

“Wait, it does that?”, Cat Noir asked, looking at his staff in astonishment. “Neat.”

He did as instructed and a wealth of information was transferred to his staff. Ladybug had had it on record during the fight, picking up voices and faces.

“Clever, Bugaboo.”, Cat Noir said. “Very clever.”

“Indeed. One of the cleverest Ladybugs to have ever been. Her compassion, her intelligence and her determination each day make me proud for choosing her.”, Master Fu said.

“And it makes me feel privileged to be her partner.”, Cat Noir replied.

He began to sort through the information, barely glancing up as Tom and Sabine entered the room. 

“Is it…………. is it going well, Mr. Fu?”, Tom asked.

“She is showing good progress. Her body is already healing.”, Master Fu replied. “However, it is the head injury that concerns me the most. They are tricky, with or without magical healing, so she remains unconscious.”

“I see.”, Sabine said. “Well, thank you. For all you’re doing.”

Cat Noir suddenly made a choking noise, startling Tom and Sabine who hadn’t realised he was there. He was staring at the screen with a look of great shock and revulsion.

“What is it?”, Sabine asked.

“I found out who did this.”, Cat Noir replied.

“Who?”, Tom asked at once.

Cat Noir held out his staff’s display screen. On it, displayed most prominently, was a man in black leather with a swastika armband and another swastika tattooed on his chest. Tom and Sabine’s faces twisted in disgust and rage.

“Nazis! Those wretched little thugs!”, Tom growled, clenching his fists.

Master Fu’s eyes snapped open and there was a sputtering of magic as the spell almost gave out, but he caught it at the last second. His eyes were wide with fear, sadness and anger.

“No.”, he groaned under his breath. “No. No, not them. Not them! They’re supposed to be gone!”

“Master?”, Cat Noir asked. “Master Fu, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Cat Noir.”, Master Fu replied. “Just…….. bad memories. It is not important right now.”

Cat Noir clearly wanted to ask further, but nodded. He connected his staff to the police database and scanned the photo for a match with anyone in the criminal database. After a few moments, it found a match and he read out the details.

“Guilbert Saint-Clair. Convicted of numerous offenses including vandalism, destruction of private property, intimidation, harassment and membership in several illegal groups. Suspected of perpetrating or directing numerous hate crimes and arson attacks on businesses owned by ethnic or religious minorities. Wanted for questioning regarding the death of a Yemeni-born man and near-fatal injury of his wife and teenage son.”, he read off. “Sounds a right charmer.”

“He and his lot are scum!”, Tom said. “The Nazis almost destroyed Europe, let alone France, and they keep up those disgusting beliefs!”

“We’ve had some trouble with them in the past!”, Sabine chimed in. “They don’t like a mixed race couple being such prominent and successful businesspeople! Hoodlums and ruffians, the lot of them!”

“Well, now I have a name. And that’s all I need.”, Cat Noir said.

“How do you plan to find him?”, Tom asked.

“He’ll probably be pretty well known among the criminal underworld and the dregs he hangs out with.”, Cat Noir replied. “One of them will know where he is.”  
He stood up.

“I just need to find one and ask him a few questions. And so on and so forth until they cough him up.”, he said.

He paused only to kiss Ladybug on the forehead and wish her luck, then bid the three adults goodnight and left. Tom and Sabine watched him go.

“He………….. won’t actually kill them, will he?”, Tom asked. “I mean, I despise the little thugs but I don’t want murder.”

“No, Mr. Dupain.”, Master Fu replied. “He will not kill them. But he will make them suffer.”

*

Cat Noir crouched on a corner of the roof of Montparnasse Tower, the bright moon framed behind him and giving him a Batman vibe. He’d decided that the best way to flush out the top rat was to start at the bottom of the heap and work his way up. Find a new or recent recruit to their disreputable bunch and squeeze them for information. Then, cause as much havoc and distress as possible for them until the rats crawled out of their hiding place and ran right into his waiting claws. But how to find one, that was the question. According to the police database, new ones were sent to harass and cause a commotion in residential areas where a large number of ethnic or religious groups lived, so his best bet was to start there. Sure enough, on a street where a number of Jewish businesses were established, he saw one punk in black leather menacing an elderly woman with a pocket knife. Much to his surprise and amusement, the old dear was far from intimidated and was waving her walking stick in a threatening fashion at the punk, who seemed highly reluctant to go within reach of her.

“Come on, you coward!”, she spat. “I survived the Holocaust and the Vichy occupation! A little gutless fish like you will be small fry!”

The punk was looking distinctly wary, clearly not expecting his target to be such a firebrand, but Cat Noir wasn’t surprised. A lot of old ladies these days were tough as leather and took no nonsense from anyone; this one was no exception, but he decided to jump in before the punk found his spine and tried to hurt her.

“Well, well, well.”, he said as he emerged from the shadows. “Looks like the cat found himself a rat.”

The old woman scoffed.

“I had this lout well in hand, young man!”, she said.

“I believe you, ma’am.”, Cat Noir replied. “But I need to have a word with him.”

“I had nothing to do with what they did to Ladybug!”, blurted the punk.

Cat Noir froze and the old woman looked furious.

“You mean you lot did that to her? To a young woman and a hero?! Just you wait until I get my hands on you!”, she shrieked.

But the punk decided flight was better than fight and took to his heels, the old lady shouting curses in Yiddish after him.

“Well, what are you waiting for, you useless cat!”, she shouted at the still-stunned Cat Noir. “Get after him!”

That startled him back into action and he bolted after the fleeing punk, leaping to run along the side of the houses. The punk, seeing this, screamed and increased speed………….. only to run flatout into a lamppost with a resounding clang and then slump to the ground completely unconscious and possibly short of a few teeth. Cat Noir stopped by his side, breathing harshly.

“Right.”, he said. “Let’s find a place to talk in private when you wake up.

It didn’t take long for the guy to regain consciousness, only to find himself looking right into the masked and angry face of Cat Noir. He jerked back reflexively and his feet skittered on the edge of the rooftop he was currently being dangled off by his coat lapels.

“Have a nice nap?”, Cat Noir asked him.

“What do you want from me?”, the guy replied. “I haven’t done anything!”

“No? Then why were you threatening that old woman with a knife? Offering her a haircut?”, Cat Noir asked scornfully.

“That was just a misunderstanding!”, blurted the guy.

“Oh, please!”, Cat Noir scoffed. “I met better liars in school! Now talk! Guilbert Saint-Clair, where is he?”

“Who?”, the punk replied, playing dumb.

Cat Noir glared at him wordlessly, then let him go. The guy almost toppled backwards off the roof with a shriek, but Cat Noir caught him with one arm and pulled him back to safety at the last moment.

“I don’t have the time or the patience for games!”, he snarled. “Saint-Clair, where is he? Talk or the next time I catch you will be with my weak arm!”

“I don’t know where he is!”, the guy blubbered. “Only the big guys know!”

“And where are they?”, Cat Noir asked.

“Please! They’ll kill me!”, the guy begged.

Cat Noir glanced past him to the ground below.

“And a two-storey drop will shatter your legs and net you a two month stay in the hospital. Difference is, you can run from them!”, he hissed.

“OK, OK!”, the guy said, finally breaking. “There’s this basement clubhouse thing where they meet, the address is in my pocket! They’re supposed to be gathering there tomorrow night, maybe you’ll find them there!”

Cat Noir reached into the guy’s pocket and found a card with the address scribbled on it. Satisfied it passed muster, he grabbed the guy hard and jumped down to street level, where he let him go.

“You seem young and stupid enough to have fallen for their crap.”, he said. “So I’ll give you one chance. Chuck out the swastikas and find yourself another gang to hang with. Because if I catch you hanging around with this lot again, it’ll be Montparnasse Tower I’ll be throwing you off instead of a two-storey house. Understand?”

The guy nodded meekly.

“Good. Now scram!”, Cat Noir told him.

The guy didn’t need telling twice and scarpered, leaving Cat Noir alone to ponder his next move. Apparently they were having some sort of rally or party to celebrate Ladybug’s injury. He almost ripped the paper in his hands in anger. But as these bozos were going to find out, anything involving Ladybug inevitably involved Cat Noir.

==================================================================

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you all think of that? Vengeful Cat of the Night makes his debut and the scum he's hunting will soon learn to be very, very afraid. He won't actually kill or torture them, but he won't baulk at hurting or threatening them if necessary.
> 
> Also, Adrien sets in motion a class-wide appreciation of Marinette and foils Lila's attempts to derail it, even though that ends up costing him when she snitches on him to his father. Adrien's lifestyle as a model concerns me since his diet is clearly regulated, likely he's not allowed to eat certain foods and it doesn't account for his superhero exertions, meaning he could be burning more calories than he takes in. The Dupain-Cheng pastries help in that regard, but leave it to Lila to ruin anything good he gets from Marinette.
> 
> Nathaniel bursting out like that is a reference to his crush on Marinette from "Evillustrator". Whilst he no longer has romantic feelings for her, she's still got a special place in his heart and he won't stand for anyone badmouthing her. 
> 
> In regards to the Joan of Arc bit, that was an invention of mine. Tikki has terrible survivor's guilt regarding Joan and the fire that nearly killed Marinette will be very triggering for her when she comes into the story. In "Backwarder", Master Fu explicitly fled Paris because the Nazis were hunting for the Miraculous and that inspired me to include the note that those behind Joan's burning knew about the Miraculous and wanted to get their hands on it, but she figured this out and allowed herself to be burnt in order to deny them the earrings. She wore fake ones and when they swept through the ashes and threw her remains in the Seine, they discovered her trick.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien/Cat Noir makes more progress as he hunts down the Neo-Nazis, gaining a bit of interesting information from one as he closes in on their leader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is slowly becoming more assertive, snarky and badass as this goes on, but also gaining a bit more maturity as his role as Ladybug's avenger forces him to take on adult responsibility.
> 
> References to more action movies abound here.

Having made progress in his search for information, Cat Noir headed home and went to bed, waking up much more refreshed and relaxed than the previous morning. He ate his breakfast a bit more slowly this morning, since he didn’t plan on swinging by the bakery this morning, and then waited for Nathalie to give him his schedule for the day.

“After school, you have a photo shoot with Lila Rossi at 4:30.”, she told him.

Adrien was unable to suppress a groan.

“Again?”, he asked. “I thought those were only once a week.”

“Your father has elected to step up your appearances with her. The decision was his as he feels she is an appropriate friend for you.”, Nathalie replied emotionlessly.

“Really? Has he talked to Vincent, or Claudine, or Rhona? Because the modelling staff really don’t seem to like her.”, Adrien remarked.

“I will take note of this and pass it onto your father. However, I don’t know when he’ll get round to it. He’s very busy.”

“Very busy.”, Adrien said at the same time. “Of course he is. Just, let him know, please?”

He brooded all the way to school, apologising to his bodyguard once again for getting him in trouble. The big man shrugged in the mirror and Adrien made a mental note to do something nice for him that wouldn’t get him in trouble. Maybe he’d do that whilst he was getting something nice for Marinette; he hadn’t decided on what to get or do for her yet, but hopefully inspiration would strike. He was still thinking as he walked into the classroom, bracing his ears for Lila’s standard morning boasting. To his great surprise, however, it wasn’t Lila who was regaling everyone this morning, but Nathaniel.

“I’m not kidding! My grandmother said she had this knife-wielding guy on his back foot and then Cat Noir showed up and chased him into a lamppost!”, he was saying.

“Wow! And your grandmother wasn’t scared?”, Alya asked.

Nathaniel laughed.

“Are you kidding? We once had a rat the size of a bowling ball in the basement and she took one look at us, called us all cowards and chased it out with a shovel. If anything, we’re all scared of her!”, he said.

“She sounds awesome! I wanna meet her!”, Alix said.

“Well, maybe.”, Nathaniel replied.

Adrien listened in with interest; that old lady had been Nathaniel’s grandmother? Small world, he supposed.

“So what happened when Cat Noi got there?”, Alya asked, recording with her phone.

“He chased him off until the guy ran into a streetlamp, then threatened to drop him off a roof, according to my granny.”, Nathaniel said. “Apparently, it was Neo Nazis that were responsible for the attack on Ladybug, so it looks like Cat Noir’s out for revenge.”

A wave of anger raced through the class, all of whom were staunch supporters of Ladybug. Except Lila, but she was a bitch whose opinion did not matter at all. Still, she knew that to show anything but glowing admiration for Ladybug would be detrimental.

“I just hope he doesn’t go overboard and kills them.”, she simpered.

“Well……………..”, Alya said, looking thoughtful. “It’s not like many would mourn it.”

“I certainly wouldn’t.”, Nathaniel scoffed. “My grandmother escaped them, but her husband didn’t. It makes me sick to think they’re still around after what they did.”

“You said it.”, Adrien remarked. “My father hates them with an almost murderous fury.”

“Really?”, Nino asked. “Why?”

“I’m not sure.”, Adrien replied. “And truthfully, I’m too scared to ask him.”

Not as many people chuckled as he thought, but then they’d met Gabriel Agreste (through a tablet screen, yes, but that still technically counted) and he was an intimidating person. He hadn’t always been that way, though. When Mother was alive, she’d been like the sea that smoothed out the rough edges of a rock. Now, his father had more jagged edges than a broken window. Adrien did love him, but he was slowly but surely slipping away from him. His entire life was micromanaged, down to his calorie intake, he had little in the way of personal time and it was made clear who his father thought were appropriate friends for him, namely Lila. Only a few months ago, Adrien would have accepted all of this without even a question, reasoning that his father knew best and it would work out. Yet now, having caught a glimpse of the world through different eyes, he had come to realise that his father’s methods would ultimately cause him more harm in the long run. The outside world could be cruel and dangerous and unforgiving, but keeping him coddled and fenced in wouldn’t help him to grow and find a place in it. Most of his classmates could cook and make change and take the bus or the subway with confidence; he couldn’t even figure out the proper time to make a piece of toast without burning it. Even if he never had need of these skills, because his family were ridiculously wealthy, it would be nice to have them; luck favoured the prepared, after all.

“I’m sure he’d tell you if you just asked, Adrien.”, Lila simpered.

Adrien gave her a cold look; not the ice-age one his father had perfected, which could reduce anyone to a stammering wreck in an instant, but a pretty good imitation. It certainly made her shut up.

“Oh, sure. I can just ask my father who is so busy that I have to fill out a form just to get five minutes with him about a topic that he clearly hates talking about.”, he said.

The sharp edge of his sarcasm could have cut cheese and clearly took everyone off-guard; Adrien was their Sunshine Boy, always endlessly kind and cheerful and polite. Lila looked like she’d been slapped in the face.

“I was just making a suggestion.”, she said, eyes welling with false tears. “You didn’t need to bite my head off.”

Adrien, by now exceptionally wise to Lila’s tricks, fought not to roll his eyes. He noticed a few people giving him scolding looks.

“A little harsh, Adrien.”, Alya said.

“I was only trying to be nice!”, Lila wailed.

Adrien saw her smirk behind her hands.

“Sorry, Lila.”, he said. “I’m just a bit stressed out. Worried about Ladybug being out of action.”

Lila’s eyes flashed at the mention of Ladybug; during several of their photo shoots, she had been demeaning and insulting towards Ladybug, saying she was overrated and didn’t deserve as much adulation as she received. It had taken all of his self-control not to lash out at this badmouthing of his lady and also opened his eyes a bit. Lila was extraordinarily petty, slandering Ladybug simply because she called her a liar. Admittedly in a harsh fashion, but it was almost a year ago! Get over it, already!

“We all are, Adrien.”, Alya said. “I hope the scum who did it get punished harshly!”

“So do I!”, Alix seconded.

“And me!”, Kim remarked.

Adrien sensed the anger and frustration rising in the class and decided to head it off; Hawk Moth had been worryingly silent so far, but best not to present any tempting targets.

“Maybe we should talk about something happier.”, he said. “Any luck on finding something to get Marinette?”

The class eagerly locked onto this, except Lila who tried to shrink away from it. She had absolutely no intention of doing anything nice for Marinette whatsoever.

“Me and Marc are doing a joint present. I’m drawing a poster of her as a superhero and Marc’s writing a dedication.”, Nathaniel said.

His eyes turned dreamy, more than likely thinking of his boyfriend. Adrien wasn’t sure how they went from comic book partners to adorably sweet lovebirds but was happy for them. Alix rolled her eyes fondly.

“Kitty Section are going to write a special song for her!”, Rose squealed.

All of them had amazing ideas, showing just how much Marinette meant to them; Alya was planning a girls night out, Nino was filming a video diary of the class sending her support messages, Kim and Max had bought her a rare sparkly pink video game controller, Alix had made the news with her street art of Marinette’s face and Sabrina got her a lovely set of gel pens. Even Chloe had chipped in, albeit begrudgingly and for which Adrien owed her big time; a full spa treatment at her expense.

“I got her a new sewing machine.”, Adrien said when it was his turn. “This futuristic-looking, expensive one.”

“Ooooooh!”, Alya crowed. “Splashing the cash are we, Sunshine Boy?”

“Maybe.”, Adrien replied coyly. 

“But, Adrien.”, Lila said, in her most poisonously sweet voice. “Do you really want to be wasting so much money on a gift?”

This time he wasn’t the only one who glared at Lila. Nathaniel’s brow wrinkled in confusion and mild distaste and Alix’s eyes narrowed into slits.

“My allowance could probably buy the store.”, Adrien said. “If I want to splurge a bit for a good friend, that’s my business.”

“And what are you getting her, Lila?”, Alix asked, in a somewhat cold voice.

Lila blanched, unexpectedly put on the spot.

“Well, actually I’m not sure if I’ll be able to. I’m just so busy with all my charity work that I might not have the time to get her anything.”, she said.

“Pbbbbt!”, Chloe scoffed. “Yeah, right! And I’m the Queen of France!”

Lila shot her a deadly glare, but the tension was diffused by Ms. Bustier’s arrival. As he took his seat, he heard Alix mutter that if Chloe was the Queen of France, maybe they could guillotine her. Even he couldn’t resist a chuckle at that.

*

In hindsight, Adrien realised that putting Lila on the spot in getting a gift for Marinette might not have been the best idea given how much of a petty grudge-holder she was. Adding to the extra photo shoot with her and it turned out to be a terrible idea. Apparently sensing that Adrien desperately wanted to be elsewhere and get this shoot finished as soon as possible, Lila seemed to deliberately make herself twice as hard to work with as last time, to the extent that half an hour had passed and they hadn’t even gotten started on the actual shooting. Vincent was almost tearing his hair out as he announced a break. Adrien managed to extricate himself with difficulty from Lila’s pawing hands, pulling her over to a more secluded area where they could have some privacy.

“OK, Lila. I have had it up to here with your behaviour during these shoots.”, he said.

Lila looked the picture of false innocence.

“My behaviour, Adrien?”, she asked. “I’m only doing what I feel is the best way to appeal to the teen demographic. If anyone’s behaviour needs correcting, it’s your staff. Honestly I expected them to be more professional than this if they work for Gabriel-”

“They are professionals.”, Adrien cut her off. “Each and every one of them is the best in the business and absolutely 100% professional. They don’t need you telling them how to do their jobs and arguing with them for so long over pointless advice that our shoots take twice as long as necessary.”

“I’m only giving them some good advice.”, Lila retorted. “Not my fault if they don’t listen.”

Adrien restrained himself from facepalming. 

“And another thing. I’ve told you time and time again about the limits I’ve set about contact.”, he said. “The shoots call for you to sit next to me, not drape yourself across me.”

“I just think our outfits would complement each other better if we’re closer.”, Lila said.

“No.”, Adrien said with a firm tone that surprised himself. “You are not my girlfriend, no matter how much you might act like it.”

Something flashed in Lila’s eyes at that.

“Well, I might not have to act like it for much longer.”, she said. “Your father seems amenable to us being a couple. My mother has important contacts in Italy that could be useful in expanding Gabriel.”

Adrien fought down a wave of revulsion; if that was true and his father really was considering setting him up with Lila, he was going to have some serious trouble on his hands. 

“No.”, he said flatly. “There is no way that is ever happening.”  
Another flash in the cold green eyes, of something dangerous.

“I’d be careful saying that, Adrien.”, she purred. “You wouldn’t want to make an enemy out of me.”

Adrien laughed mirthlessly.

“I could make an enemy out of you by cutting in the line in front of you.”, he said. “You’re so petty, that’s all it would take.”

He was pleased to see a flash of anger in her eyes.

“I probably made an enemy out of you with the idea of getting Marinette a gift.”, he pressed.

“Why would you bother getting that little goody-goody a gift?”, Lila sneered. “It’s not like she’ll ever like you.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”, Adrien replied. “But who knows? I might like her.”

He said it in a joking fashion, but truthfully his feelings for Marinette had changed quite a bit even before he found out she was Ladybug. She was funny, she was clever, she was unbelievably sweet and adorably dorky but also had a fierce strength of will and inflexible moral code that meant she never allowed wrongdoing or harm to come to her friends or those she cared about. He wasn’t sure if it was love, but it was certainly strong. And it was worth saying that just to see the look of pure shock on Lila’s face.

“You actually like that little goody two-shoes baker’s brat?”, she sneered. “She could never hope to compare to me.”

“Oh please, Lila.”, Adrien scoffed back. “She actually outshines you and she doesn’t even need to try.”

Lila laughed, a scornful cackle that ground on his ears like nails on a chalkboard.

“Like that pathetic baker’s girl could ever best me. I’m the daughter of a diplomat! I’ve met Jagged Stone!”, she said.

“No, you haven’t. But Marinette has.”, Adrien said. “In fact, she’s his personal designer.”

“What?”, Lila spluttered.

“Yep.”, Adrien replied, popping the “P”. “She designed his album cover and his Eiffel Tower sunglasses, and is one of his official contacts and personal designer. She also appeared in Clara Nightingale’s music video, won my father’s hat design contest and caught the attention of Audrey Bourgeois.”

Lila looked like she’d been hit by a bus.

“Impossible.”, she said after a while. “Even if that trash had done all of those things, why on earth wouldn’t she be bragging about them? Use them to upstage me and make herself the reigning top dog.”

“Because she is not you.”, Adrien replied simply.

Lila gave him a calculating look.

“You like her.”, she said. “Don’t you?”

“Even if I did, what business would it be of yours?”, Adrien replied.

“I think it would be in the interests of both of you that you don’t pursue Marinette romantically.”, Lila purred. “Unless you want another tragic misunderstanding that gets Marinette expelled.”

Adrien blinked at her. She showed no deception here; she could and would orchestrate another plot that saw Marinette expelled if she so much as suspected that Adrien had genuine feelings for her.

“You really are a pathetic creature, aren’t you?”, he said in disgust. “You know, I also think Juleka’s brother Luka is kind of hot. Does that mean you’d try and ruin his life as well?”

“Maybe.”, Lila replied without missing a beat. “I’ve got the entire class wrapped around my little finger, as well as the faculty and even your father. So I’d advise you to stay on my good side.”

Adrien was tempted to ask which good side she was referring to, but decided not to push his luck. If he wanted to get out of here and investigate that lead, it was best to just endure Lila for now. 

“As you wish.”, he said ominously.

Lila, who did not watch Star Wars, missed the ominous note in the phrase. She then proceeded to waste another half-hour arguing with the staff until they conceded and the shoot ended up dragging on for an extra hour. Adrien wasn’t the only one who felt like slamming Lila’s head through a plate-glass window by the end of it, but pushed it to the back of his mind as he was driven home. This time he bolted his dinner down and rushed upstairs with the same excuse, locking the door and transforming in the space of two seconds.

“If I miss this lead because of Lila, I swear I’m going to set Plagg loose on her.”, he muttered.

Plagg’s sphere of influence wasn’t just limited to Destruction; he represented and had power over bad luck, pestilence, famine and decay. He had explained to Adrien how he could invoke these powers on a chosen target at the will of his holder, from a single individual to an entire country depending on the holder’s wishes. He had offered to curse Lila with bad luck on several occasions, but Adrien had always told him not to. But after today……………

“No. No.”, he scolded himself. “Lila can wait. For now, Nazis.”

The address provided by the punk he’d menaced led to some sort of underground dive in a distinctly unsavoury area of Paris. Cat Noir watched from the shadows atop an empty building as people, mostly young men in black leather, periodically knocked on the door and were granted access. His innate night vision allowed him to see them as clearly as he would have in daylight and the night vision scope on his staff allowed for perfect pictures, which he was planning on sending to the police once he was done here. His eyes widened and then narrowed as he caught sight of a familiar face; the punk who’d been harassing Nathaniel’s grandmother. Clearly he was stupider than he looked by ignoring the warning he’d been given. Cat Noir would have to remind him, and also make it clear that he did not give second chances. Apparently he was the last to arrive, so Cat Noir descended to street level and inched across the street to the door. Deploying a small listening device from his staff, he pressed it against the metal and then put the corresponding earpiece in his ear. Voices filtered through, as clear as if they’d been standing next to him.

“So you’re absolutely certain that Cat Noir doesn’t know we’re here?”, asked a gruff voice.

“Absolutely.”, the punk’s voice replied. “He tortured me, threatened me, held me off a rooftop but I told him nothing!”

Cat Noir snorted to himself; far from telling him nothing, the guy had folded faster than a paper plane with only a few threats.

“Good on you.”, said the gruff voice. “Now, let’s get down to business. We’re going to be getting new orders from the boss man.”

There was an almighty crash as the door flew inwards, kicked clean off it’s hinges. Cat Noir stood in the doorway, twirling his staff.

“Do tell.”, he said.

The punk from last night looked caught between rage and the urge to wet himself. His companion, a grizzled-looking skinhead with a beard, glared at him.

“I thought you said he didn’t know about this place?!”, he thundered.

“Yeah, he lied.”, Cat Noir said. “Cracked like the rotten egg he is.”

The big skinhead looked furious.

“You squealing little pig!”, he snarled. “When I get my hands on you……..”

“Actually, big guy, I’d worry more about yourself if I were you.”, Cat Noir remarked.

His staff extended out at incredible speed to strike the big lug square in the centre of his forehead, knocking him to the floor in a daze. The punk let out a yelp of fear and turned to run further inside, but the staff lowered to trip him up. Another bunch of men, similarly dressed, emerged from an inner room and froze at the sight of Cat Noir standing in the caved-down doorway.

“Evening, gents.”, he said. “I’m looking for your boss.”

They pulled out bats, knives and bottles.

“I was kind of hoping you’d say that.”, Cat Noir remarked.

They were given no warning. He just jumped into their midst and began lashing out. One lunged at him with a knife but he dodged, snatched it out of the thug’s fingers and buried it in his shoulderblade from behind. Not fatal, but very sore. All of them were classic bullies, used to picking on those smaller than them or unable to fight back. Against a superhero trained in fencing, martial arts and self-defence, they stood no chance. All of them were left unconscious on the floor in very short order, except for the still dazed big one whom he hoisted up and slammed against the wall.

“All right, big guy.”, he said. “Question time.”

“What makes you think I’ll talk?”, sneered the big lug.

“I don’t think, I know.”, Cat Noir replied. “It’s simply a matter of finding the right……… pressure point.”

According to several Eastern traditional medicines and martial arts, there existed certain points on the body that were exceptionally sensitive to even minor pressure. This had given rise to the popular but incorrect notion that one could kill by striking these points, most notably the Five-Point-Palm Exploding Heart Technique from the highly entertaining Kill Bill series. But even though lethal effects were disproven, it was generally agreed that hitting these points could cause excruciating pain. Cat Noir sought one such point out and pressed one clawed finger into it. The man immediately doubled over with a groan of agony, slumping against the wall.

“What………….. what the fuck was that?”, he gasped.

“A pressure point.”, Cat Noir told him. “Maximum effect with minimal effort.”

“Well, it won’t work on me!”, snarled the big guy.

Cat Noir poked it again, a little harder this time, and this time it was a scream of agony that drove him to all fours.

“You know, I really don’t like having to do this, even to scum like you.”, Cat Noir said. “But after what you did to Ladybug……………”

“But we didn’t kill her!”, the guy protested.

“And that is why I haven’t killed any of you.”, Cat Noir hissed. “But I’m rapidly losing time and patience here. So I suggest you cough up something substantial or I’ll find each and every pressure point on your body and keep pressing them until your heart stops from the pain.”

The big lug remained silent long enough for Cat Noir to reach for another pressure point.

“NO!”, the big man screamed. “Not again! Not again!”

“Then speak!”, Cat Noir snapped. “Guilbert Saint-Clair. Where is he?”

“I don’t know. Only his lieutenant knows where he is!”, replied the man.

“And where can I find him?”, Cat Noir asked.

“I don’t know where he lives, but he drives around in this black Mercedes.”, said the man. “It’s the only thing he loves more than this cause.”

Cat Noir remembered something from the information he’d transferred from Ladybug’s yo-yo and brought up a photo she’d taken of a black Mercedes.

“You mean this car?”, he asked.

“Yes. That’s the one.”, the man replied.

“I see. Thank you for your cooperation.”, Cat Noir said.

And then his hand flew out and pressed down hard on a specific part of the man’s neck, causing him to briefly convulse before his eyes rolled up and he keeled over unconscious. Cat Noir then dashed off a quick call to the police about what they could expect to find here and then turned to leave, only to catch sight of the punk lying on the floor.

“Ah, yes.”, he muttered. “I’d almost forgotten about you. Last time we met, I told you what I would do if our paths crossed like this again.”

When the punk finally woke up, it was to find himself trussed up like a turkey and tied to a pole on the roof of Montparnasse Tower. He responded by screaming like a cartoon lady with a mouse. Cat Noir stuck around long enough to watch this before heading for home. The building staff who maintained the equipment on the roof would let him down………….. in a few hours. But now he had another lead, the second-in-command. He’d seen from the recording on Ladybug’s yo-yo that he was the one who poured the kerosene to set the place on fire, so that was a special score to settle. The night was young, so he decided to chance it. Activating his staff, he connected it to the city’s traffic cameras with an alert to be triggered by the number plate from one of Ladybug’s photos. Just on the off-chance that he was about. And for once, luck seemed to be with him, as a camera in a suburban district caught the Mercedes’ number plate. Using it as a map, Cat Noir tracked and followed the car out of the city and into some hills. The car parked and a man got out, dressed again in black leather adorned with swastikas. He looked mean and thuggish, with a livid scar across his head and a nose which looked like it had been broken recently. Probably by Ladybug when she fought back, Cat Noir thought to himself angrily as he crouched in the branches of a tree. The guy took out a mobile phone, dialled a number and waited. A few seconds later, it was answered. Cat Noir’s hearing was not sufficient to catch what the voice on the other line was saying, but he could hear the lieutenant’s voice just fine.

“Bad news, Saint-Clair.”, he said. “The chapterhouse got busted. They’re saying it was Cat Noir’s doing.”

“Yes. Yes. Yes, I understand. No, I don’t think he knows about us or our new target. By the way, did you get the information on it?”

“Good. And the payment? Excellent. Once the heat is off, we’ll hit the target good and proper. In the meantime, we should stay under the radar, maybe think about leaving Paris until that wretched flea-bitten cat gives up.”

A few more words were exchanged, then the lieutenant hung up the phone and reached into his jacket. He took out something black and long which he laid on the bonnet of his car, then took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one, taking a deep drag of it. Cat Noir decided to make his presence known, descending silently from the tree and creeping up behind the guy.

“You know, those things are really bad for your health.”, he said by way of greeting.

The lieutenant almost inhaled the whole cigarette down his throat in shock, coughing out a plume of smoke as he whirled round to face the hero. His eyes widened and then darted to the bonnet of the car, where he’d placed the unknown item. Cat Noir glanced at it and was shocked to see it was a gun. Where’d he get that? The lieutenant, shock wearing off, tensed as he clearly prepared to go for the weapon.

“I advise you to consider your next course of action very, very carefully.”, Cat Noir warned.

He read the look in the thug’s eyes and so, when it happened, he reacted faster. As the man darted for the gun, Cat Noir moved first and swung his staff down on the man’s arm just as his fingers closed on the gun. There was a loud snapping noise, like stepping on a dry branch, and the man let out a howl of agony, clutching at his arm. The gun slipped out of his fingers and fell to the ground; Cat Noir picked it up and inspected it with a look of great distaste, holding it at arm's length like it was something diseased or contaminated.

“I really hate guns.”, he said. “There are plenty of problems in the world and guns are rarely a solution to them. Cataclysm!”

The gun, overwhelmed by the power of Destruction, rusted to useless immobility in his hand. He then squeezed and it broke, sending flakes of rust soaring on the evening breeze. The lieutenant, moaning in pain, glared at the hero.

“You broke my arm!”, he said through gritted teeth.

“You know, that reminds me of a scene from Terminator 2: Judgement Day.”, Cat Noir remarked. “That annoying psychologist said exactly the same thing to Sarah Connor after she hit him, and then she replied that was one out of 215 bones in the human body. But did you know they got that part wrong?”

He said it casually, though keeping one eye on his ring as it began to count down.

“There are actually 206 bones in the average adult human body. Not too far off, but that still leaves 205 more to go.”, he went on. “Now sit there and don’t move.”

He reached into the man’s jacket and took out his car keys, using them to unlock the car. A quick inspection of the inside revealed nothing of interest and value, until he popped open the boot of the car and found a large canister of kerosene and a box of matches and an idea popped into his head.

“Hmmmm. I think I know just how to make him talk.”, he said to himself.

He removed both items and closed the boot with a loud clunk before proceeding back around the side of the vehicle. It’s owner was still nursing his broken arm, but looked up as he saw Cat Noir open the tank of kerosene.

“What are you going to do?”, he asked fearfully.

“That would be spoilers.”, Cat Noir replied.

He then began to pour the kerosene over the car, ignoring the wails and squalls of protest that it would ruin the paintwork. When the can was empty, he tossed it aside and took out the matches. 

“Now, question time.”, he said. “Where is Guilbert Saint-Clair?”

“Fuck off!”, the guy spat. “I’m not telling you anything!”

“OK then.”, Cat Noir replied.

He took out one of the matches and struck it, then held the lit match over the fuel-soaked car.

“How about now?”, he said threateningly.

“No! Please, not my car! Not my car!”, begged the man.

“Then talk. Talk or it’ll be ‘car-coal’”, Cat Noir punned.

Internally he winced; that was terrible, even for him, and a small part of him was grateful Ladybug hadn’t been there to hear it. But it did the trick for the terrified Neo-Nazi.

“OK, OK! I’ll talk, I’ll talk!”, he cried.

“Tick-tock, the match is burning down. I might not be able to hold it for long.”, Cat Noir warned.

“He’s got an apartment in the 17th arrondissement! Building 490, apartment 3A!”, the man wailed.

“And what was your planned target? What were you going to hit?”, Cat Noir demanded.

The man’s lips trembled, so Cat Noir threateningly lowered the match.

“A bakery in the 21st arrondissement! It’s been on our hit list for a while, but we got a request to hit it with an arson attack in a few days!”, he said.

A bakery in the 21st arrondissement? But that could only be…………… the Dupain-Cheng bakery! In shock, the match slipped from his limp fingers and fell onto the kerosene-soaked bonnet. With a sound like a muffled “whoomph”, the fuel ignited and the car became a fireball in an instant. The man let out a scream of anguished rage.

“My car! I’ll kill you, you bastard!”, he bellowed.

And he managed to stagger to his feet and, in spite of his broken arm, aimed a punch with the unbroken one at Cat Noir’s face. But the hero reacted faster; he dodged the punch with ease and his left hand shot out to grasp the man by the neck. He then lifted him clean off the ground, gasping and choking and clawing futilely at the hand currently crushing his windpipe, with a lethal glare in his eyes and a snarl on his face.

“You tried to burn Ladybug alive. She’s a hero, a beacon of hope, a paragon of goodness and the only reason Paris is not a devastated wasteland after every akuma. And you tried to burn her alive!”, he hissed. 

“And worse, you showed utter glee when you were going to do it, but react with horror when I lit up your car? I spare your miserable life only because it is what Ladybug would do, but mark my words when I say that if I ever catch you in Paris again, I will end you there and then.”

And he dropped the man, leaving him to howl in pain as his broken arm was jarred against the ground. Pausing only to take the man’s phone, he then made his way back towards Paris as sirens split the air, heading for the car fire on the hillside. It was getting late, but Cat Noir headed for the bakery, determined to check on Ladybug and share what he’d just found out with Master Fu and the Dupain-Chengs. 

“They’re such lovely people. Who cares if they’re not ‘French’?”, he muttered. “And what is French these days anyway? Far as I’m concerned, if you live and work in France, you’re French and that should be good enough for everyone.”

Adrien and his friends rarely encountered such bullying at school, since College Francoise Dupont was an international school with students of all social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. But there had been attempts by more xenophobic members of Parisian society to make it less inclusive or shut it down altogether. Adrien found such poisonous beliefs distasteful and detrimental to life; hatred never solved anything. 

Cat Noir reached the bakery in record time and let himself in as per usual, de-transforming when he was inside and handing Plagg a piece of cheese to recharge. Ladybug was still lying unconscious on her chaise-longue, peaceful in slumber. It warmed his heart and he kissed her gently on the forehead.

“Wake up soon, milady.”, he said. “I can’t bear the thought of a world without you for much longer.”

The whole scene reminded him a little bit of Snow White, the first film he could remember watching with his mother. Both of them had been regular lovers of Disney and watched them whenever they had some spare time. He remembered talking to Alya, Marinette and Nino about them as well, particularly about how certain parts would play out very differently today. For example, Prince Charming’s heroic kiss of the comatose Snow White would probably result in either a lawsuit or a punch to the face if it was tried today. They’d all had a hearty laugh when Nino jokingly tried it on Alya, who threatened to pepper spray him in response. It was one of those silly moments between friends that Adrien absolutely cherished, having been starved of them for nearly his whole life. Plagg floated over, having finished his cheese, and Adrien transformed once more.

“Now where is Master Fu?”, he wondered aloud.

Opening the trapdoor, he went downstairs into the residential flat above the bakery and found the Dupain-Chengs sitting at their kitchen table with Master Fu, drinking tea and talking in low voices. All of them looked up at the sound of his footsteps.

“Oh. Cat Noir.”, Sabine said. “Come in and have a seat. Would you like some tea?”

“Thank you. That would be nice.”, Cat Noir replied.

He took a seat and sipped his tea, grateful for the warmth it sent through his weary bones.

“How’s Ladybug doing?”, he asked Master Fu.

“The spell is complete.”, the old man replied. “It is up to her to wake up, but she is fully healthy.”

“That’s good.”, Cat Noir remarked. “By the way, do you have some kind of history with these Neo-Nazis? I’m just asking because you seemed horrified at their being involved.”

Master Fu closed his eyes and grimaced, clearly recalling unpleasant memories.

“Yes and no.”, he said finally. “I had an encounter with their predecessors, the original Nazis.”

Cat Noir grimaced and Sabine and Tom exchanged worried looks.

“I had my ear to the ground at all times, but even I did not anticipate how swift, brutal and utterly complete their rise to power in Europe would be.”, Master Fu continued. “And it’s fortunate I was on the alert, because they knew of me and the Miraculous.”

“How is that possible?”, Cat Noir asked. “I thought the Miraculous were top secret.”

“Their megalomaniacal leader thought little of things like history, archaeology and the supernatural.”, Master Fu said. “But his second-in-command, Himmler, was obsessed with arcane and occult items, and he sent teams of his loyal dogs to capture me and the Miracle Box. I barely escaped their clutches, but I still have nightmares of what it could have been like had such evil gotten their hands on the powers of the Miraculous.”

Cat Noir felt a spike of pure, ice-cold fear go through him at that. Imagine his Miraculous in the hands of Hitler! It didn’t bear thinking about!

“Praise be to all deities that ever existed that never happened!”, Tom said, looking pale.

“Indeed.”, Sabine agreed. 

Cat Noir could only nod. 

“You seem preoccupied, Cat Noir.”, Master Fu remarked. “Is something wrong?”

“Something like that, Master.”, Cat Noir replied. “I went after our little friends again tonight, and I learned a few things.”

“What things?”, Master Fu asked.

But before Cat Noir could reply, there was a creaking noise from the stairs and all of them turned to see Ladybug, rubbing her eyes and looking very tired and confused, but awake.

“Mum? Dad?”, she said. “Did I miss something?”

==================================================================

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug's awake! How will she react to all the things going on in her absence, how will Adrien break the news of his identity to her and how will her parents react to her being Ladybug? 
> 
> So, highlights. I had planned from the start that the old lady would be Nathaniel's grandmother. He had to get that sudden fire from somewhere after all. 
> 
> Then there is Adrien's surprisingly frank and brutal put-down of Lila for being her usual self, as well as blisteringly summing her up as a pathetic, petty creature who would happily ruin other people's lives to get five minutes of fame. His mentioned attraction to Luka is my own take, as I think Adrien isn't strictly heterosexual and Luka is pretty attractive. Lila seems determined to get rid of all potential romantic rivals, and Luka would certainly qualify. Just meant to ramp up how vile she is and increase the hate.
> 
> The class still believe and fawn over Lila in this for the most part, but some of them are picking up on her less than desirable traits and getting suspicious. They're not quite ready to outright accuse her of lying or trickery, but they are starting to wonder if Marinette is onto something about her.


	4. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Thought I should post this to assuage any fears that this story is discontinued. It has not been, I am just suffering from a combination of writer's block and lack of motivation to keep writing this one for now. The next chapter is underway and partially completed, but I don't know when I'm coming back to this one. Sorry about that, but I will come back to it eventually and will keep churning out other ones as inspiration strikes me.


End file.
